Principal's Report
WEEK AHEAD
We have quite a bit happening this week. A series of visits from the local kinder started yesterday and continue through until Thursday. These visits are an important step in the transition process for our 2025 preps as we lead into the Pre-Schooler Program in weeks one tofour of next term and then finish up with Orientation Day on December 10. Later this week our debating team will head into Ballarat to compete against other schools. From all reports they are both excited and nervous and we know they will do well. And then we finish off the week with a bang….school disco. We have lots of kids booked in, so already know the event will be fun. A big thank you to both staff and parents who are volunteering their time to help out on the night.
CONCERT UPDATE
Our Concert Team met again last week and organisation for the event is tracking along nicely. Hopefully by the end of this week we will have a running order for the concerts, which will enable us to progress other aspects of organisation.
Those that have seen previous concerts will be aware that we finish with all students performing to a finale song. After seeking input from students, at assembly on Friday Mr Skilbeck announced to the students that for this concert the finale song will be ‘Can’t Stop the Feeling’, by Justin Timberlake. Over the next five weeks everyone will learn the lyrics, and some moves to make sure each concert will finish in style.
The concert will be recorded in a variety of ways. A professional video will be available to families to purchase. We will also have class photos available for purchase after the event. A professional photographer will help us capture the event by taking still photos of performances.
We have to be a bit careful with the ticketing process, as we have 397 families and approximately 1300 seats to sell across the two evening performances. Obviously, we want all families to access at least a few seats, so initially we apply a limit to the evening performances. We can now confirm that families will be able to purchase up to five tickets for the evening performances (total of five across the two evening performances). Previous concerts suggest that there will be plenty of seats available at the Thursday matinee performance, so families can purchase unlimited seats to this event. The Thursday matinee is a great opportunity for grandparents and other extended family members to attend. Tickets will be available for purchase soon, so watch this space.
Help Requested – We’re hoping to find someone to help out with transporting props back to school on the Friday evening. As each class finishes performing on Friday evening, their props are gathered, popped in a trailer and transported back to school. This process happens gradually across the evening, preventing a big job at the end of the night. We have the trailer, so just need the labour. If this is something you’d be happy to help with, please get in touch.
PARENT OPINION SURVEYS
Our school is conducting a survey to find out what parents / caregivers / guardians think of our school. The Parent / Caregiver / Guardian Opinion Survey is an annual survey offered by the Department of Education that is designed to assist schools in gaining an understanding of families’ perceptions of school climate, student behaviour, and student engagement.
The survey is optional, but we encourage all families to participate. Our school will use the survey results to help inform and direct future school planning and improvement strategies.
All families are invited to participate in the survey and will receive a survey link and school PIN, which will provide access the survey. These will arrive via a Compass message early next week.
The Parent / Caregiver / Guardian Opinion Survey will be open from Monday July 29 to Friday August 30.
The survey will be conducted online, only takes 20 minutes to complete, and can be accessed at any convenient time within the survey period on desktop computers, laptops, tablets or smartphones.
The online survey will be available in English and 10 other languages including Arabic, Greek, Hakha Chin, Hindi, Japanese, Punjabi, Simplified Chinese, Somali, Turkish, and Vietnamese.
Parent survey results provide us with a good sense of school performance from a parent perspective and we’re always keen to get the results and then talk them through with school council.
PREP ENROLMENTS FOR 2025
If you have a child starting primary school in 2025, it’s time to enrol. Please make sure to submit your enrolment application by Friday 26 July.
It is important to follow the statewide timeline to enrol your child in Foundation. Enrolling your child in line with the timeline allows us to plan our classrooms, staffing and transition activities and ensures your child has the best start to school.
For more information, please read about when and how to enrol your child in Foundation at vic.gov.au/enrolling-foundation-prep.
If you are seeking to enrol your child into Prep next year, please contact our school office on 5341 3560 or Buninyong.ps@education.vic.gov.au or you can download the enrolment form attached.